


His Smile is the Sun

by ghostgarden



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Falling In Love, Flirting, Fluff, Fluffy, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Love, M/M, Teasing, i wrote this half awake i hope it's alright
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 03:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6312745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostgarden/pseuds/ghostgarden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After several days of tiring work, Leo has finally granted Niles a day to himself. What better a way than to spend it relaxing with Corrin? Fluff ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Smile is the Sun

Perched on the sturdy branch of a tree, Niles leaned back haphazardly with a lazy look on his face. The sunlight that peppered through the leaves illuminated the greenery, casting splotches of soft light against his face. It was another beautiful spring day in the castle grove, but this one was different as it was a day off. Lord Leo had been particularly demanding with errands as of late, so having the opportunity to be relieved of being ordered around was more than welcome.

He sighed contentedly, swinging his foot that hung off of the branch back and forth like a pendulum. One arm was tucked behind his tangled mess of white locks, and the other arm rested on his chest, a sweet apple in his fingers.

From the corner of a half-lidded eye, he noticed Corrin out for a stroll to enjoy the pleasant weather. As if his day couldn’t get any better! The corners of his lips turned upward ever so slightly, and he raised the sweet fruit to his mouth to take a bite. If there was one person in the castle that Niles longed for the company of, it was the silver-haired prince.

Corrin hadn’t noticed him yet, walking with his eyes glazed over and his eyebrows furrowed as if deep in thought. His feet dragged ever so slightly as he walked, his gaze trained on the green path in front of him. Ever since the last battle fought several days prior, Corrin had spent an increased amount of time by himself, mulling over who knows what. Strategies? Training sessions? His allegiance to Nohr? It was all up in the air, and Niles was intrigued. If anything, he wanted to break Corrin out of his post-battle daze; he sorely missed seeing him looking happy.

“Hey, Corrin!”

A pleasant warm feeling returned to Niles’s stomach as Corrin blinked in surprise, his eyes following the voice up into a nearby tree. Corrin’s smile flashed pearly white and wide, small pointed fangs peeking out from his lips.

Oh, how Niles had longed to see that face again.

“Niles…!” Corrin paced over to the trunk of the tree, extending his hand in a somewhat awkward, if endearing, wave. “I didn’t— I didn’t even see you up there!”

A soft laugh bubbled from Niles’s lips, and in one smooth motion, he slid himself easily from the tree branch to land in front of him. Corrin jumped slightly in surprise, but his content expression didn’t waver.

“You should be more alert, you know?” Niles teased playfully, stepping closer to close the gap in between the two. He brought his arm up near his head to rest against the trunk of the tree, hovering over Corrin with an amused grin. “You wouldn’t want to be caught in the heat of battle all spaced out, thinking about who knows what… you’re a bit of a target, what with all of this drama going on...” He nonchalantly brought the apple up to his lips, taking several bites.

Corrin’s cheeks heated ever so slightly as Niles towered so closely over him— the archer’s entire being seemed to envelope him against the tree. He was handsome in a rugged sort of way, his tousled hair softly curling around his face. Shyly, Corrin brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck.

“Well, you know… I’ve just been, ah… thinking... about how we’re going to handle the Hoshidans the next time we see them.” In all actuality, Corrin had forgotten what he was daydreaming about, still slightly shaken as Niles stepped forward again to close what little remained of the gap between them.

“Is that so, prince?” Niles’s voice remained light and good-natured, the look in his blue eye seeming to glitter. Casting away the apple core, he raised a calloused hand to Corrin’s cheek. His fingers ghosted the soft skin ever so slightly before he pinched it mischievously, provoking the heat radiating off of Corrin’s face to intensify. “You know, you’ve been so busy lately, what with your…” He trailed his fingers up to Corrin’s forehead, tapping it gently. “...battle strategies you’ve been thinking through. It’s such a nice day out… why don’t you take a load off and sit with me a while? I don’t bite.”

At this flirtatious gesture, the breath caught ever so slightly in Corrin’s throat. Niles was standing so close, he could practically breathe him in… a heady scent of pine and leather that sent chills up his arms. He smiled faintly at the archer, the heat from his hand still buzzing on his skin as Niles drew his hand away.

“I’m sure Lord Leo wouldn’t mind if we, oh… discussed some _attack plans_  together. What do you say? Just you and I, shooting a breeze?” He sat down against the base of the tree and crossed one knee over the other, patting the grassy spot next to him expectantly.

Corrin grinned and shrugged in mock defeat. “How could I say no to you?”

Whatever stress was lurking in Corrin’s mind melted away as he took the invitation, the grass soft between his toes. Leaning his head back against the wood, he closed his red eyes, taking in the fresh, crisp air.

The two sat quietly for a period of time, neither speaking, just enjoying the company of the other.

“Corrin,” Niles suddenly began in a low voice, looking over at the dear prince beside him. “I know that you’ve, ah… had a lot on your mind recently and all… not to get all heavy with you and everything... but I wanted to say that you’re doing a good job.”

Corrin didn’t open his eyes, humming in contented response. It wasn’t often that Niles was sensitive with a person, and he didn’t want to interrupt whatever it was he was about it say.

“I don’t know if you’ve been told that recently, especially since the day you had to choose which family you were going to return to…” He paused, aware that he was hitting a sensitive nerve bringing up the topic, but he continued nonetheless. “You’ve seemed a little out of it these past few days, and I won’t lie, it had me thinking about you. And mind you, I don’t sit there thinking about just anyone.”

A hand reached over to tentatively tuck a strand of silvery hair behind Corrin’s ear, prompting Corrin’s stomach to flutter as he looked over to Niles’s face. What a flirt this rogue was— and yet, his affectionate demeanor was calming in a way.

The archer chuckled warmly, continuing his spiel as Corrin shyly leaned his head into his touch. “It’s good and all to be focused on hard work, but don’t forget to take care of yourself, too… as amusing as it is, seeing your face all scrunched up like that when you start really thinking deeply.”

Corrin reached up to push away Niles’s hand with a beaming smile, but Niles was quicker. He countered by grabbing his wrist. “Besides battle plans, what goes on in that head of yours, anyways?” Niles loosened his grip ever so slightly, but kept hold of Corrin’s wrist with a wry grin. “Do you think about me? Be honest— I won’t let you go until you tell me.”

Corrin's gaze flickered to the side for a brief moment, his ears and cheeks burning a redness that rivaled the color of his eyes. What a tease! “You’re really going to make me say something so embarrassing out loud?” While his voice indicated a pout, Corrin’s soft facial expression was only full of affection.

Pleased with himself, Niles released his wrist, but moved his hand to cup Corrin’s palm delicately. “I’ll spare you this time; that look in your eyes told me everything.” He brought the soft hand up to his lips, kissing the knuckles gently.

There was a time and place for sorrow, for anger, for fear— but there was also time to laugh, to be at peace, to love. Lord Leo had given him a day off from the drama of war, and a day off he had indeed received.

If there was any motivation to continue to fight, it was in seeing Corrin’s smile after the storm.

**Author's Note:**

> AAAAA the archer rogue has stolen my heart. i have a real soft spot for m!kamui/corrin x niles, and i really wanted to practice writing niles's character... i hope i did him justice for my first time writing him!


End file.
